Sparks Electrical News March 2020

CONTRACTORS’ CORNER

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WearCheck expands in West Africa

The world’s first commercial solar panel that charges under indoor light

S outh African condition monitoring specialists, WearCheck, today upgrad- ed their laboratory in Tarkwa, Ghana into a state-of-the-art testing centre which can now conduct transformer oil, coolant and fuel analysis - amongst a host of addi- tional services – as well as traditional used oil analysis. Tarkwa’s new laboratory – now housed in a building a block away from the original con- verted shipping container – is kitted out with various new instruments that enable extensive advanced testing to be done, and additional laboratory technicians have been employed. The company also opened a second labo- ratory in Ghana recently, providing world class oil analysis and reliability solutions services to industries in the Ashanti region, in Kumasi. These developments by WearCheck are a direct result of increased demand for excel- lent condition monitoring services in Ghana. This brings to 17 the number of laboratories operated by WearCheck, which was founded over 40 years ago in Durban, South Africa, and today processes in excess of 800 000 used oil samples annually. Since 2013, WearCheck Tarkwa has suc- cessfully serviced Ghanaian mining opera- tions and other industries, conducting the sci- entific analysis of used oil and other condition monitoring techniques – all of which reduce maintenance costs and boost productivity by improving equipment reliability and availability. Managing director Neil Robinson is de- lighted to be expanding business operations

WearCheck Kumasi laboratory supervisor

Martin Acheampong (left) processes used oil samples in the company’s new lab in Ghana, while lab techni- cian Charles Aggrey looks on. WearCheck provides oil analysis and other condition monitoring ser- vices to industries to boost machinery availability and reliability.

services such as the analysis of used oil and other fluids, thermography, vibration analysis, balancing, technical compliance, rope condi- tion assessment, non-destructive testing, and a wide range of aligned services. Min- ing, industrial, marine, earth moving, aviation, construction and power generation – these are just some of the industries in which WearCheck’s customers operate. WearCheck is Africa’s premier condi- tion monitoring company, with a network of laboratories spanning nine countries on the continent and beyond in Dubai and In- dia. Laboratories are situated in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, DRC and Mozambique, with WearCheck branches in several other African countries.

in Ghana. “The industries in Ghana have welcomed WearCheck with open arms, for which we are very grateful. The positive feedback from our Ghanaian customers has inspired our company to expand into the Ashanti area to meet the local need for our top quality laboratory services.” Robinson is dedicated to providing top quality service and is proud of WearCheck’s status as the only condition monitoring com- pany in Africa with ISO 9001 quality certifica- tion and ISO 14001 certification for its envi- ronmental management programme, as well as ISO 17025 accreditation for its laboratory- centric quality management programme. Backed by a team of highly-skilled sci- entists and technicians, WearCheck as- sists customers to select the best condition monitoring programme, which incorporates

RICOH has created a solar panel capable of charging under indoor lights. Technically, the new panel is a solid-state, dye-sensitised solar cell that mimics the same photosynthesis process plants use to harness the sun’s energy to make glucose and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water. “This is perfect for the Internet of Things (IoT) world we live in today,” says Jacques van Wyk, CEO of Ricoh SA. “Our digital workplaces use a lot of battery-operated technologies, including things like the battery-operat- ed multifunction printers that we make for use in warehouses and other areas. Being able to keep the devices charged from the normal lighting while working indoors has a huge impact on productivity and efficiency.” The DSSC technology replaces chlorophyll with light-absorbing dyes. Incoming light excites the molecules, creating energy that is collected by an electrolyte and catalyst structure that operates like a leaf does in nature. DSSC technology that generates affordable electricity has been around for some time but has never been safely usable in commercial applica- tions until now. The iodine and organic solvents that were traditionally used are easily made volatile and leak. But the solid-state electrolyte solves those problems. It also incidentally makes more power under weaker light sources, such as the light in warehouses, because the organic dyes work optimally with those light wavelengths. The biggest of Ricoh’s new solar panels, the DSSC5284, is being used for an office desk that keeps mobile devices on the desk charged up throughout the day. The desk is called LOOPLINE T1 and was made by Taisei Corporation and Design Office Line. “We recognise the need – both within business and society – to identify new sources of renewable energy. In today’s IoT era, we are even more committed to our energy harvesting efforts,” says Tetsuya Tanaka, GM of the Energy Harvest Business Group at Ricoh. “Originally, our DSSC tech- nology applied the organic photoconductor technology that we developed to drive our multifunction printers. The power of innovation and belief in technology that fuels the future led us to leverage that same DSSC tech- nology to fuel renewable energy in environments critical to our customers, such as offices with little natural light. We’re thrilled to introduce solid-state DSSC technology to the world and are eager to continue developing new applications for this critical renewable energy source.” ENEL FOUNDATION , together with the University of Cape Town’s Grad- uate School of Business (UCT GSB) as host, inaugurated the third edi- tion of Open Africa Power (OAP) in February, aimed at empowering a new generation of leaders to drive Africa’s clean energy transition. Open Africa Power, started by Enel Foundation in 2018, is aimed at sharing information and increasing know-how regarding all aspects of electricity generation, distribution and regulation among participating African PhD, Masters and MBA students and alumni. In addition, the education program also aims to empower a new generation of leaders able to contribute to their countries’ clean energy transition and estab- lishes a networking platform for participants to support achievement of SGDs 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 5 (Gender Equality), and 13 (Cli- mate Action). The partnership announced on the sidelines of the open- ing of OAP 2020 includes the launch of the “Nelson Mandela Founda- tion OAP Prize”, to be granted annually from 2020 onwards by both institutions to the best student of each edition of the program, based not only on academic merits but also on the student’s social commitments to giving back to the community. The “Nelson Mandela Foundation OAP Prize” will further highlight this commitment and the first recipient of the distinction will be announced on Mandela Day. Energy training held in celebration of Nelson Mandela Enquiries: www.ricoh.co.za

Enquiries: +27 (0)31 700 5460

Bringing off-grid power to over four million people in Africa

solar home systems that power 3.5 million people in rural commu- nities across six countries. Fenix launched sales in Mozambique in June 2019. In the last month, the company has reached milestones in multiple markets, with 150 000 solar home systems sold in Zambia, 50 000 in Benin, and 20 000 in Côte d’Ivoire. Universal electrification is the seventh of the United Nations Sus- tainable Development Goals that the global community has commit- ted to achieve by 2030. ENGIE is confident that universal access to energy is achievable in the foreseeable future, through smart invest- ments in a combination of national grid extension, solar home systems and mini-grids.

ENGIE Africa is pleased to announce that it has successfully accel- erated the Access to Energy (A2E) strategy that it launched in 2018. ENGIE has achieved this through the development of its three A2E off-grid energy solution companies: Fenix International, ENGIE Mobi- sol, and ENGIE PowerCorner. With these three innovative entities, ENGIE Africa is bringing de- centralised electricity to more than four million people in nine coun- tries (Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mozambique). This growth is in line with the Group’s ambi- tion to reach millions of households and businesses with clean, distrib- uted energy across Africa. Fenix, which was acquired by ENGIE in 2018, expanded its opera- tions significantly in 2019. To date, it has sold more than 700 000

Enquiries: www.ENGIE-Africa.com

Enquiries: www.enelfoundation.org

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

MARCH 2020